Disney cancels first ever TV show with openly gay character
'Andi Mack' will end its third season this year
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Disney has cancelled its first ever TV show to feature an openly gay character.
Andi Mack – which is currently on hiatus – was created by Lizzie Mcguire creator Terri Minsky and focused around 13-year-old Andi and her two best friends Cyrus and Buffy.
The TV show became the first ever Disney Channel programme to feature a character utter the words ‘I’m gay’ earlier this year as Cyrus – played by Joshua Rush – came out to his friends.
But despite being revolutionary for Disney, the studio announced that the show will be returning in June but there will be no more.
Minsky said of the cancellation: “Andi Mack was a labour of love for a room of impassioned, inventive writers, a talented and dedicated crew, and an extraordinary, miraculous cast who inspired us all.
“We had the honour of breaking a lot of new ground for Disney Channel. We were its first serialized show, its first series centred around an Asian-American family and its first to feature an LGBTQ character who spoke the words, ‘I’m gay.’
“But the best part of making Andi Mack was our audience, who let us know we mattered to them. The series finale is for them.”
In a Twitter thread, Rush said it was an ‘incredible honour’ to play the first out Disney Channel character.
He wrote: “It’s an incredible honour that Disney Channel would have me play such a ground-breaking and layered character. I’m humbled by their generosity every day.”
Today the announcement came out that this next batch of episodes will be our last. A short thread: pic.twitter.com/Wj0zUtROBH
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) April 24, 2019
Fans of the show took to social media and used the hashtag #SaveAndiMac.
Relive Cyrus’ historic declaration on Andi Mack below: